Insane City by Dave Barry
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Ridiculous. Utterly Ridiculous. Which is what it was going for, so good on Barry.
I didn’t think it was as satisfying a novel as his first two solo works, bu the further I got into it, and the more out of control the plot got, the more I warmed to it and the more I laughed.
The ending’s fairly predictable, but pretty satisfying — and funny.
Lots of laughs to be had
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Indexing by Seanan McGuire
Series: Indexing, #1.7
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Episode 7: Bread Crumbs
Well, didn’t see any of that coming. Wow. Well, not totally true — I’d figured something a lot like what happened with Demi at the end of the episode was coming. But McGuire’s been leading us to that for awhile now, so that’s not a knock on her ability to surprise the reader. Given how many different things happened in this episode, that’s still a really good ratio.
More stuff — little things, episodic things, character things, overarching plot things, comic things, curious things, puzzling things — happened in this episode than any other. The pacing was far different, too — there was an urgency to everything that unfolded that matched what was going on for the characters. The team split up to deal with several narrative events — their night was chaotic, messy, and terrible — and the writing matched that. I read this a few days ago, and more than any single plot point, that feeling sticks with me.
Not that the plot points have faded — this is one of those bits of writing that burns itself into your brain for awhile. Every character is well-served, even the constantly under-utilized Andy. He gets more ink — and action — here than in the first six episodes combined. We learn a lot about him along the way — and while Jeff is featured as much as he usually is, we learn as much about him as Andy.
This is an episode where the changes to the narrative are front and center, on display for Henry’s team to see as clearly as it is for the reader — and the rest of the Agency. Not just the potentially earth-shattering events are lived through, but paradigm-shifting realizations are reached. The road for these five just got a lot bumpier ahead.
In the midst of this heaviness, McGuire puts a well-placed bit of comedy (possibly two, depending how you take the latter). Henry and Sloane are working to keep a Peter Pan from attempting to launch himself off a roof and discover that he really can’t fly. I wondered if instead of trying to stop him, what if they made him think a lot of happy thoughts — would that have actually permitted him to fly? In a world where a Snow White manifestation can actually talk to birds, I wouldn’t have thought so. But maybe. With time running out and their normal efforts failing, Sloane does the smartest, most inventive thing I’ve seen anyone in this book do to help this boy grow up. I laughed out loud as I realized what she was up to, and kept it up through her execution. I’m still not sure why Henry was so against it.
I’m more invested in this story than I’ve been at any point since I started reading it, and cannot wait for Episode 8.
Indexing by Seanan McGuire
Series: Indexing, #1.6
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Episode 6: Fox’s Tongue
Again, I’ll just say that without more grounding in the normal way the narrative works in this world it’s hard to get too invested in/fully understand the way it’s working differently now. If McGuire’d asked me, I’d have told her to give us an episode or two of the status quo before Henry has to toss caution to the wind and recruit Demi. But the status is not quo — and McGuire didn’t ask me, so who cares? (frankly, as long as I get my regular Toby Daye fixes, I really don’t care how the rest of her stuff comes out, even this one, which I’m generally positive about.)
This particular case is interesting enough on its face — but once you go behind the surface, this could get really, really ugly. The plot twists and turns in these few pages are very engaging, just the kind of thing to really draw in the reader.
The character moments for Henry and Sloane are likely the best in this series — Henry seems capable and useful — something I’ve not really seen from her — particularly when she dips into her Snow White-ness for the sake of the investigation. And Sloane grappling with her (true?) self was very effective. I was less impressed with the use of Demi here — her being overly honest and complete with her reports was a good, rookie touch. But where’s the training, why weren’t her teammates on top of that thing — she needs to be trained, not only in the written words and procedures, but in the unwritten policies of her team. They’ve really dropped the ball with her.
McGuire really seems to be pointing at someone as the Big Bad of the series — I’m not sure I want to go where she appears to be leading — it’s almost too easy that way. Then again, sometimes the subtle approach isn’t the best. I guess I’ll see over the next 6 installments.
Whoops, behind again. Further than I thought, too. I knew I needed to read/talk about Episode 6, but I hadn’t realized that Episode 5 wasn’t up yet — I’d have sworn I posted it last month. Maybe I did. Maybe Internet Termites came along and ate it, leaving the rest of this blog.
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Indexing by Seanan McGuire
Series: Indexing, #1.5
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Episode 5: Cruel Sister
I thought I had things figured out — at least for the next 2-3 episodes, I thought she’d take the memetic incursion from the last episode and put it to work, and that this would last for a few episodes, if not turning into the Big Bad for the 12 as a whole.
What a relief to be wrong — the way that McGuire took things instead — a good, honest heart-to-heart rather than repeated covert assassination attempts might be smaller on the Drama Meter, but it ranks pretty high on my satisfactory use of characters meter. Characters — particularly those who work in close quarters together — need to talk more and combat less (not that I have a problem with good fight scenes, etc. — it’s just when they’re necessary and/or unavoidable, not the result of sit-com type misunderstandings and circumstances)
The cases that Henry and her team (aka, Henry and People Who Serve a Purpose) have been dealing with lately, the narrative isn’t acting like they expect/have been lead to believe is necessary. That’s definitely the situation this time, which for some reason appeals to me more than the others. Maybe it’s the way that this one veered from the norm, maybe it’s because I’m getting a better and better idea what the norm is supposed to be. Or maybe I just have a thing for people poisoning their families.
I hope it’s not the latter.
I’m thinking we could use more development of each idea in this episode (and in retrospect, the previous episodes, too) — it felt really rushed. Almost too rushed to keep going with. I don’t think each of these is a book-length idea (but it might be), but they need more space than they’re currently getting, at least 2x the words.
Still, a good read, with a lot of tantalizing possibilities for the next episodes. I need to just stop trying to guess what’s going to happen and just enjoy the ride. Don’t see that happening, but that’s what I should do.
Odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:
— book 8 of the Greywalker series is out. I’m only 6 behind now.
— I’m confused and embarrassed by the fact that it took me this long to pick this up.
as the title implies, I’m in the middle of this book, so not a review, just thoughts mid-way through
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The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
Without knowing what name is on Robert Galbraith’s birth certificate, I’m not sure if I’d have picked this up off of a bookstore shelf — can’t imagine I would’ve nabbed it at Amazon or Kobo, etc. Maybe, maybe, I’d have grabbed it off of the library‘s New Book Shelf. But at 47% of the way through? I’d be waiting for the sequel. Really enjoying this.
This is not the Rowling of Harry Potter — as it should be, that wouldn’t work for this audience. Even better — this isn’t the Rowling of The Casual Vacancy — thankfully, mercifully, not that Rowling.
Prayers for Rain by Dennis Lehane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
better than Sacred, but not as good as the rest of the series. Some of the character development was more of a reset to pre-Gone, Baby, Gone status. How odd was it that Bubba was the only character to really have any growth?
Patrick Kenzie talks often of his tiring of the PI biz, not sure if he had it in him any more, it wasn’t fun. How much of this is Patrick and how much is Lehane speaking through him? Tough call. ‘tho the decade or so that Lehane took away from the series is a pretty good hint, I think.
Good read, creepy bad guy, with an iffy ending. Still better than many things I’ve read this year, while not Lehane’s best.
Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don’t think I’ve the original context of the remark, but I’ve seen it often enough that I don’t doubt the veracity. But at some point Dennis Lehane characterized his Kenzie/Gennaro series as the kind of books that a guy in his twenties would write, as an explanation for why he’d moved on. Now, first of all, I don’t blame a guy for not wanting to get stuck in a rut, to only write one thing his entire life (no matter how good he is at it). But that always struck me as an uncharacteristically dumb thing to say. What’s that say about 1. the authors outside of their 20s who are writing the same kind of thing and 2. those of us out of our 20s who like to read that kind of thing.
Frankly, I thought that Shutter Island was more like something a guy in his 20s would write (particularly the ending) than anything else he wrote.
But hey, it’s his opinion, and he’s entitled to it — as long as he writes things more interesting than The Given Day (which, to be fair, I haven’t been able to get too far into, it’s fully possible that if I’d read another two pages, I’d have loved it).
Still, imagine my surprise when I learned that a new Kenzie/Gennaro book was coming out.
It’s a lighter read than the previous five books in the series, but it still carries that trademark Lehane punch. This book sure seems like a self-conscious attempt to stress the fact that our heroes, like the author, aren’t in their twenties. They’ve aged, matured, get tired more easily want nothing to do with the violence that so marked their younger years. They’re not the only ones who aged, Amanda McCready, the kidnapped girl from Gone Baby Gone is missing again, and again, he aunt calls upon Kenzie to find her.
By the end, Lehane takes his characters to an interesting (and predictable place) that probably closes the door to future installments — not unlike what Riordan did to Tres Nevarre and what Koryta may have done to his PIs. I hope it’s not the last I see of these two, but can understand why it would be.
In the end, a satisfying read. Better than many PI novels that came out this year, but not as good as it could’ve been.
Gone, Baby, Gone by Dennis Lehane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Kenzie and Gennaro are hired by the aunt of a missing 4 year old girl, who’s been missing so long that good news is almost impossible. Following a trail started by her worthless mother leads the pair and the police to drug dealers (small time and large), child molesters and other monsters and a tangled web so intricate that it makes what the protagonists have been through before seem like a picnic.
This book was my first exposure to Lehane, and turned me into a devotee for life (probably). Even though I’ve read this 4-5 times, it had me on the edge of my seat, and got me choked up and horrified by the evil depicted.
Best.Thing.He’s.Written. (not that I’ve read the new one yet)
Sacred by Dennis Lehane
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Easily the weakest Kenzie/Gennaro book, and I don’t know why. On this, like every other, re-read, I’ve tried to a. convince myself I really like this one or b. put my finger on what seems wrong with this one, and I can’t do either.
Drives me crazy.
Oh well, Gone, Baby Gone is up next.
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